The Franklin Garden Club

Franklin Garden Club History

The Franklin Garden club held its first meeting in 1945 and was invited to join the Garden Club of Virginia in 1955. In May 1967 members of the Garden Gate Garden Club of Franklin were invited to join the Franklin Garden Club. This club had been meeting since the early 1950’s. The goals of the club are excellence in gardening, conservation, preservation, beautification, and education.

Members of the Franklin Garden Club come from the city of Franklin, Courtland, and Southampton County. These communities are connected by ten miles of route 58. This stretch of highway has been an ongoing club project. Over the years the club has planted crepe myrtles, dogwoods, flowering pear, and bulbs, but due to droughts and poor highway maintenance the survival rate has not been good. In 1996 the club again planted trees along Highway 58. The Club has done other public plantings at the public libraries, YMCA, hospital, schools and parks which have fared better. In the early days of the Club, members planned and installed the Memorial Park between Clay Street and Meadow Lane in Franklin and planted dogwoods throughout the city. The Club’s work was instrumental in Franklin being designated a Tree City, USA. Other ongoing projects included sponsoring a child to attend Nature Camp in the summer for many years.

Through the years, the Franklin Garden Club has sponsored many activities that have promoted conservation and education in many different areas. In the 1990s the Club purchased video materials on ecology and the environment for use in our schools. These were placed in the Franklin Library for schools and the public to use. In 1995 the Club sponsored representatives from the Wildlife Center of Virginia located at Wyer’s Cave, Virginia, to visit all schools in the city and county. Children from preschool to high school were enthralled with the wild life the Wild Life Center brought to show students. In January 2005, the Franklin Garden Club and Rawls Museum Arts co-sponsored a day with Mary Elliett Sweeney from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts who spoke on “Gardens Since Eden.” The Club also continues to support worthwhile organizations and projects such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach.

During the 1980s the Club helped the Southampton County Historical Society with planning, funding, and planting the memorial garden at the Rochelle-Prince House in Courtland, owned by the Society and used as its headquarters. In 1991, when the restoration of the garden was completed, Mrs. William Gilliam, a member of the GCV Restoration committee, joined the Franklin Garden Club for the formal presentation of a plaque. The Club continues to support the Rochelle-Prince House by creating outdoor holiday decorations and maintaining the front gate plantings. A group from the Club also does periodic clean-ups in the yard. There have been occasional financial requests from the Society for specific needs at the Rochelle Prince House, and the Club has funded these requests.

When the Club began participation in Historic Garden Week, it was on an every-other-year basis. It was during the 1970s that the Club also began providing members to act as hostesses at James River Plantation homes and Bacon’s Castle during Garden Week – every year. This continued until 2015 when, after careful consideration and club vote, our Club began a partnership with the Nansemond River Garden Club and the Elizabeth River Garden Club so that each club would rotate being the lead club every third year for the tour. That meant the lead club would secure the homes, create the brochures and other printed items for the tour and provide the Headquarters and venues for all events of the day. Other clubs support by providing floral decorations and hostesses for one third of the homes on the tour. This arrangement has proved to be very satisfactory for all the clubs involved, particularly with regard to securing homes and facilities for the tour. We are very pleased at the feedback we get from those who attend our HGW tours and know that we have the reputation for outstanding flower arrangements/plant presentations. We make a point of asking visitors to our tours why they come, especially if they come from some distance.

Club members have been regularly participating in and winning entries in the horticulture and artistic categories of the three major flower shows sponsored the Garden Club of Virginia: the Rose Show held in October, the Daffodil Show held in April and the Lily Show held in June.

Members of the Franklin Garden Club have also been recognized on the state level by the Garden Club of Virginia for their contributions to conservation and preservation. Two members, Mrs. S.W. Rawls, Jr. (Anne) and Mrs. Charles F. Urquhart, Jr. (Dot) received the prestigious deLacy Gray Medal which recognizes outstanding effort to further the knowledge of our natural resources and to encourage their wise use. The GCV Horticulture Award of Merit for outstanding achievement in horticulture by individual GVC members has been awarded to six Franklin members: Mrs. Charles F. Urquhart, Jr., Mrs. S. W. Rawls, Jr. Mrs. Wesley B. Jones (Princess Anne Garden Club), Mrs. Robert D. Brewbaker, Mrs. Gene W. Beale. And Mrs. Ira D. Hudgins. Other members have received awards, ribbons, and cups at flower shows in both artistic and horticulture categories. With respect to artistic awards, there have been many at various levels including two tri-blue best-in-show.

In 1992 and 1993, due to the Club’s nomination, our area’s largest industry, International Paper, was presented with the prestigious Dugdale Award which is presented to an organization, industry, or an individual who is not a GCV member for outstanding work in conservation. The awards were presented in special ceremonies in Richmond each year and were attended by an executive from International Paper and a representative of the Franklin Garden Club.

The flower shows are hosted by the member clubs of the Garden Club of Virginia around the state. Our Franklin Garden Club hosted the Rose Show in 1962, the Daffodil show in 1983 and hosted the Rose Shows in 2008 and 2009, the Club’s largest undertaking. The Club has also sent entries to the “Fine Arts and Flowers” show at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Fall Symposium in Richmond and “Tablescapes” at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk. In order to help fund these shows, boards, other Club projects prior to the two 2008 and 2009 Rose Shows, the Club has sponsored auctions, bus trips, decorated for weddings and civic events, hosted events such as Table Scapes Franklin in 1988 and had items for sale. In 1996-98 the Club participated in Downtown Franklin’s Fall Festival with a plant sale. The Club sold Green Thumb Cards as a fund raiser. The card gave discounts at area merchants and garden centers. The Club made and sold Christmas topiaries in 1996 and for a number of years assisted in decorating the Village at Wood Edge retirement facility for the holidays.

The Franklin Garden Club has also hosted other state events: the Garden Club of Virginia Board of Governors meetings in 1971 and 1991. It was in 1971 that the board voted to purchase the Kent-Valentine House in Richmond, which would become the permanent headquarters of the GCV. In 1991 it was voted that plans would begin for the renovation of the Kent-Valentine House. At that BOG the visiting members enjoyed a tour of Union Camp Corporation, a Barbeque Hoe Down, and a tour of Bacon’s Castle historical site.

Early in the ‘90s a devastating ice storm killed many trees and shrubs in this area including some very old, prized camellias. The wood from such was donated by one of our older members, Mrs. Charles F. Urquhart, Jr., and from it was carved a gavel and block for our Club. Our members remember that history each time the President calls our meetings to order with them. A photo and explanation were our Club’s donation to the centennial box buried on the Kent Valentine’s grounds.

The Club celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1995 at the End-of-Year Meeting by taking in 17 “junior members” to learn, work, and grow together before becoming active members of the chartered original club. These new, young members quickly took their places in leadership roles in the parent club and consistently participated in Historic Garden Week, GCV Flower shows, Conservation Forums, and other state meetings and events.

We have been fortunate to have a local River Keeper Program. In 2005 the River Keeper presented the program at one of our monthly meetings after which our membership voted to support the River Keeper by joining the program and paying dues. By 2013 the Club began to participate annually in a project with the Blackwater Riverkeeper Program and partner with the Virginia Master Naturalist Program in the Clean Rivers’ Program. The Club has had Master Naturalists present programs for club meetings several times.

As the new millennium began, the club focused on a large goal ahead – that of hosting the Rose Shows for two years: 2008 and 2009. Preparation began early to organize all of the logistics and finances. The largest expense was renting our venue. Our club was fortunate to receive generous donations and in-kind assistance from local businesses and foundations to fund the shows, but other routes to financial subsistence were still needed and depended on member fundraising projects. Among other efforts, the Club went into the “business” of making flower arrangements for weddings, parties, and numerous special occasions. This achieved goals beyond fundraising – providing especially new members the practice of arranging flowers as well as the experience of planning for events by calculating how much of various materials would be needed per event. Working together and learning without the pressure of being judged was another asset.

The Club was hired by at least 6 brides whose mothers/aunts were Club members; both brides and families were very happy to have our services. Other events our Club arranged for were numerous cocktail party-type events in the community.

These fundraising events were spread out over at least five years. Because of the fundraising and securing great sponsors, our club was able to rent plenty of space for the Rose Shows at our local Workforce Training Center, part of Paul D. Camp Community College, an outstanding venue in our small city. The venue had plenty of space for display rooms, workrooms, a hospitality area, and access to computers and phones. All of the assets of the Camp College Workforce Center will again be valuable in 2026 when our club hosts the Board of Governors there, an event for which our club has already been planning for over a year.

Due to careful financial planning, there was money left over after financing the Rose Shows which our Club immediately earmarked for a local conservation/beautification project – at that point not identified. Those funds were set aside, and other funds were added with future Ways and Means Projects as the club searched for the best project. In 2017, the Club sponsored a Candlelight Christmas Tour, which included 6 beautifully decorated homes, and was very popular. The Club took advantage of opportunities such as Franklin Fall Festival (an outdoor event) and Franklin Expo (an indoor event) to sell such items as Christmas wreathes, garlands, and door swags (and orders for the same), chances in raffles to have a multi-item custom front porch/portico decorations, and sale of plants uplifted from our yards and gardens (best deals ever). We also offered classes (for a fee) teaching how to make wreaths and swags (students took finished products home). Additional projects included the sale of amaryllis bulbs prior to the Christmas and Thanksgiving season, and in 2022 the Club did a “Christmas In Bloom” community event including a fashion show, silent auctions, holiday luncheon, sale of arts and crafts, and demonstration of holiday flower arrangements by a local expert and a demonstration by a White House Christmas decorator who created holiday ornaments that were use to decorate the White House.

As the search for a conservation/beautification project continued, two other issues emerged: the first was the repeated request from GCV for FGC to host the BOG in 2026, and the Master Naturalists and Riverkeeper Program gave the Club a large grant of money to be combined with our funds for a conservation/beautification project. The Club voted to host the BOG in 2026 and, of course, accepted the grant from the Riverkeeper/Master Naturalists Groups. Once Blackwater Park began, our Club began looking for something special to contribute to the park. We donated a large amount to build a 1.5 mile trail around the upper line of the park. It is the “Franklin Garden Club Trail.” We are again in the process of deciding what other educational project would be beneficial to the park and its visitors. There has been no final decision yet.

For the public and other garden clubs, our Club was been fortunate to bring some special guests to our community for educational presentations:

– Will Riley, Landscape Architecture for GCV, presented a fascinating story about Popular Forest, Thomas Jefferson’s “country home” (near Lynchburg). With remarkable audiovisuals Mr. Riley took us on a journey from Paris to the digging beds next to the home begun in the early 1800’s to make the connections between the style of the home and the choices of the landscape materials and their placements.

– Brooks Rainey Pearson, originally from Franklin, is now a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center in North Carolina. She spoke about legal issues of interest to both North Carolina and Virginia, especially those regarding solar farms and other methods of energy capture regarding the environment.

– Peyton Wells from the Tuckahoe Garden Club spoke about the emerging problem of uranium mining in the mountains in Virginia. The tops of mountains are actually being blown off. Multiple problems are occurring.

– Orchid growing – in our area there are at least two active orchid growing businesses. We have had each to give programs.

– The 2023 Annual Meeting speaker came and spoke about phytoremediation.

– A GCV Conservation member came in May of 2024 to speak about all the GCV’s projects throughout the state.

After Hurricane Floyd came in September 1999 and destroyed our downtown business district, a group of resourceful members quickly prepared an application for the Common Wealth Award from GCV. The Common Wealth Fund was established in 1979, and interest from this endowment yields the annual monetary awards given to support local club projects. The two-word name Common Wealth was chosen to describe the “wealth” that is “common” to all Virginians. The Franklin Garden Club won $5000 for planning and presentation for a “pocket park” called Chamber Walk on the site where a badly damaged building had been removed. Thru the efforts of the Club, the City, and Franklin Garden Center a wonderful park was installed there for everyone to enjoy. The park was dedicated on May 28, 2003 with Garden Club of Virginia representatives and civic leaders present for the unveiling of the memorial plaque.

With respect to field trips, the Club has done many of the usual ones – to: flower shows, conservation forums, horticulture field days, Kent Valentine House, Lewis Ginter Gardens, Virginia Museum, and Bacon’s Castle. Recently a group went to the Virginia Museum of Culture and History to see the GCV Centennial exhibit and then went back to the Kent Valentine House for lunch and seeing more exhibits there. Probably the Club’s most unusual field trip was to SWIFT – HRDS* – Nansemond Regional Treatment Center: *Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow – Hampton Roads Department of Sanitation. The facility is in Suffolk and welcomes visitors. They have prepared tours to explain the whole process from raw sewage to drinkable water. Some of the steps are visible inside the facility that is open to the public and the finished product, perfectly clean and drinkable water, is also available for visitors to drink. A different type of field trip the Club has supported has been to go to other club’s fundraisers. We have supported the fundraisers at Suffolk and Petersburg in particular.

The Pandemic posed a challenge for our Club just as for others. We used email to transact business such as reports and voting to complete the business of the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2019, the club took advantage of the large, covered, open pavilion at the YMCA to hold meetings and transact business. There was no Historic Garden Week due to Covid 2020. It is the only year the tour was canceled except during World War II. Nansemond River Garden Club was lead club for the Historic Garden Week Tour in 2021 using a creative theme requiring all decorating and flower arranging be done and displayed outside with all visitors outside likewise.

In keeping up with technology, in January of 2022, we launched our first FaceBook page and a new website. We also now have an email account for our club that is managed by our corresponding secretary. In 2024 the club purchased a computer where all club resources will be online. The IT Chair will keep the website updated. This will also have our yearly scrapbook and the club’s history so everyone can access it at any time.

It is a work in progress, but has brought interest to our club from the community and outside people. It has been an excellent way to spread the news about our club and all of our projects. We don’t just arrange flowers!
Each year the Club gives a memorial contribution to the Garden Club of Virginia in honor of the member who has participated the most in the activities of the club during the prior year. The award was named for one of our oldest and most active members, Evelyn Beale. Members record their activity points for attending meetings, participation in state flower shows, holding office, etc. The Awards Chair tallies the points of all members and announces the award at the first meeting of the following year.
We continue to celebrate our accomplishments with a Christmas Party, including spouses and guests, and May’s “Hat Day” meeting celebrating our new members.

The future is bright and blooming for members of Franklin Garden Club as we look for ways to beautify our surroundings and conserve our natural resources. New members bring new ideas and new interests. Old members give us a sense of history and experience. We would be nothing without both.
Our current focus is on planning for being lead host for HGW in 2025, hosting the BOG in 2026, pinpointing the exact project we want to sponsor in Blackwater Park, boosting our membership, and putting a lot of energy into our local project of eliminating litter in our community.